In population genetics, there is a method of measuring how inbred a certain individual is, known as the inbreeding coefficient . Previously, I used to this technique to examine the amount of inbreeding in the X-Men and was intrigued to find that there wasn’t any.
However, it’s an entirely different matter when it comes to mythology. In mythological tales, there is a great deal of incest. As you can see below, the family tree of the Greek gods is a rather convoluted one:
And here, unlike in the case of superheroes, there is quite a bit of inbreeding. For example, using the calculated coefficients of the ancient Pharaohs as a template, it seems that Ares has an inbreeding coefficient of 37.5%. This is due to the fact that his parents—Zeus and Hera—are siblings, as well as his grandparents with each other. Zeus has an inbreeding coefficient of 25%. I don’t know which Greek god has the highest coefficient, so please feel free to share calculations in the comments.
Of course, whether the superhuman powers along with complete dysfunction and strange behavior of the Greek gods is a genetic result of this inbreeding is left as an exercise to the mythological geneticist.
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